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April 15th means one thing in Silicon Valley: taxes are either filed or extended, and either way, the hard part is over. One of the real perks of San Jose apartment living near Willow Glen and Campbell is how much spring has to offer – and the next few weeks bring some of the best the Bay Area has to offer, from world-class art in the city to street festivals right outside your door. Here’s what’s worth your time through the end of May.
NorCal Cherry Blossom Festival – SF Japantown
April 18-19, 2026 | Post & Buchanan Streets, San Francisco | Free
The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival runs over two weekends in April, and the second weekend – this coming Saturday and Sunday – is the bigger of the two. The Grand Parade steps off Sunday, April 19, starting at City Hall and ending in Japantown. Between food booths, live performances, taiko drumming, martial arts, and the street energy of one of the last three remaining Japantowns in the country, it’s a full afternoon. Free admission. Worth the BART ride.
Spring Wine Walk – Downtown Campbell
Thursday, April 23, 2026 | Begins at 201 Orchard City Drive | Purchase a ticket ahead of time or at the event
This one is practically in your backyard. The Downtown Campbell Wine Walk is in its 16th year, and it’s one of the few in the Bay Area held at night – which makes it a different experience than the usual afternoon stroll. You’ll work your way through 24+ wineries spread across walkable Downtown Campbell, with live bands on the street and the shops and restaurants open around you. Each ticket comes with a commemorative tasting tumbler. Check-in starts at 5:45pm outside Water Tower Kitchen, right next to the Campbell Water Tower. Tickets are $55 plus Eventbrite fees, and they’re available now. Designated drivers get in free.
A great Thursday night out for couples or a group of neighbors.
Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival
April 25-26, 2026 | Cupertino Memorial Park | Free
The 42nd annual Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival is free to attend, with free parking, and it’s a genuinely easy day trip from San Jose. Japanese arts, crafts, cultural performances, food, and the full festival experience – closer and lower-stakes than heading into San Francisco. Good option if you want something laid-back and local on the last weekend of April.
Nikkei Matsuri – San Jose Japantown
Sunday, April 26, 2026 | 640 N. 5th St., San Jose | Free
The 48th Annual Nikkei Matsuri is the most local event on this list – San Jose’s own celebration of Japanese American culture, right in Japantown. Food, performances, artisan shopping, exhibits, and a community feel that’s been going for nearly five decades. Free to attend, with supervised parking available nearby at 71 West Hedding Street. Runs 10am to 5pm.
If you haven’t spent time in San Jose Japantown, this is a good introduction. It’s one of those neighborhoods that makes apartment living in San Jose feel genuinely different from just any Silicon Valley suburb.
Boogie Music Fest – Downtown Campbell
Saturday-Sunday, May 16-17, 2026 | Downtown Campbell | Free
Put this on the calendar now. Boogie is the South Bay’s biggest street festival, and Downtown Campbell shuts down for a full weekend of live music across multiple stages, 100+ artisan and vendor booths, food, beer, wine, and a kids’ zone. Metro readers have voted it one of the South Bay’s best local music festivals. It’s free, it’s walkable from Plum Orchard, and it’s the kind of thing that makes you glad you live where you live.
South First Fridays – SoFA District, San Jose
First Friday of every month | Downtown San Jose SoFA District | Free
Worth mentioning as a standing date: South First Fridays brings the SoFA arts district to life every first Friday of the month, with galleries, vendors, food, and live music spread through one of downtown San Jose’s most creative corners. It runs year-round (except July and January), which means it’s always something to look forward to on the first weekend of the month.
Monet and Venice – de Young Museum, San Francisco
If you’ve been waiting for a reason to make it out to Golden Gate Park, this is it. Monet and Venice is running at the de Young through July 26, 2026, and it’s one of the better excuses you’ll have to get into the city this spring. The show brings together more than 20 of Monet’s Venetian paintings – his only trip to Venice, at age 68, produced some of the most luminous work of his career – alongside pieces by Renoir, Sargent, Turner, and Canaletto. Over 100 works in total. It’s the first exhibition dedicated to these paintings since they debuted in Paris more than a century ago.
Tickets are timed and they do sell out, so book in advance at famsf.org. Plan to spend a few hours, and make a day of it in the park.
One More Thing Worth Noting
Spring is also the smart time to be looking at apartments in San Jose if a summer move is on your mind. The best 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments near Willow Glen and Campbell move quickly once the peak season kicks in – and finding the right place before the summer rush means more options, less competition, and more time to actually enjoy all of the above. If Plum Orchard has been on your list, now is a good time to come see it in person. Schedule a tour here and see why residents keep choosing this neighborhood year after year.